Naples

Charles IV, King of Naples and Sicily 1516-1556

Fr-830, Pannuti Riccio 1a, PCGS-graded MS-62

Very rare; a wonderful example with a superb Renaissance portrait and ideal gold toning.

This Holy Roman Emperor of the House of Habsburg, known as Carlo in Italy, inherited nearly 1.5 million square miles of territory, from much of which he eventually abdicated as ruler because the extent of the empire was overwhelming. His wealth came from Spain and its American colonies. While ruling for 40 years, he sanctioned the conquest by Castillian conquistadors of the Aztec and Inca empires. Gaining control of this vast central American territory caused enormous amounts of silver to flow to Castile. At age 56, he retired to a monastery for peace and quiet, leaving his empire to his younger brother Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, and his possessions in the Netherlands and Italy to his son Philip II of Spain.